iOS 101: Configuring Email - The Power Of Push

If you’re new to the iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, then you’ve probably got over a hundred questions regarding your shiny, new device. Here at AppAdvice, we strive to answer them one question at a time, each and every day. This is iOS 101, and class is about to begin. One of the best features of Apple iDevices are their ability to handle email. Currently, I've configured my personal email, my university email, and my AppAdvice email to work with both my iPhone 4 and my iPad. And, I believe this situation is ideal. As soon as something buzzes through on my iPhone or iPad, I can answer it immediately - meaning that when something huge hits my inbox, I can reply within a minute. If you've ever owned an iDevice, then you're probably familiar with the process of "fetching" your email. This was the primary method for retrieving email on iDevices until push became a reality, not long ago. "Fetch" is a process by which your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch contacts your email server at preset intervals (or manually), to check for new email. For example, you can set up "fetch" on your iDevice to check for mail every 15 minutes, 30 minutes, every hour or manually. However, as you've probably already guessed, "fetch" isn't ideal. The major issue with this means of receiving emails is that messages aren't delivered instantly. If your life is intertwined with digital mail messages, you're probably thinking one thing: this isn't good enough. Fortunately, while you can always opt to "fetch" your email on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, there is another option. And, it's called "push." For me, "push" email is a revelation. Essentially, this amazing feature allows you to receive emails instantly. Sort of like receiving an SMS or MMS message, only a pop-up notification isn't displayed. With "push" email notifications enabled, your Mail app will buzz as soon as an email message hits your inbox. That's the power of "push." However, you should be aware that "push" can be a big battery drainer. This is because your iDevice keeps a constant Internet connection, in order to receive emails instantaneously. If you want to preserve battery life, manual "fetching" is the way to go. So, without further ado, let's take a look at how you can set up "fetch" and "push" email services on your iDevice. While Apple promotes its MobileMe service as being an ideal way to set up "push" email on an iDevice, you'll be pleased to know that Microsoft Exchange and Google Mail accounts can also push their email directly to your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. Quiet, please. Class is about to begin. Adding an email account In order to add any email account, be it "fetch" or "push" powered, you first need to head over to the Settings app in your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. From here, navigate to the "Mail, Contacts, Calendars" section:

Underneath "Accounts," hit "Add Account." This will bring you to a list of account types, including "Microsoft Exchange," "MobileMe," and "Gmail." Obviously, you must select your account type here. So, if your  email address is appadvice@gmail.com, select Gmail. You'll then have to enter your credentials. "Name" simply is your own name: Joe White, in my case. "Address" refers to your email address, and "Password" asks for your email account password. Last, "Description" refers to a brief description of your email account. Once you've entered these details, your iDevice will verify them - and if all goes well, your email account should be ready to use. It's as simple as that. To Fetch, or to Push? Like I said, if you can configure "push" with your email account, then you really should - because it works great. If you have a Google Mail email account, a Microsoft Exchange account, or a MobileMe account, then "push" email should work fine for you. However, if you have a Google Mail account, you do need to set up your email account in a pretty unusual way. Thankfully, Google has posted a support document on this, which we're going to paraphrase here. First, you need to add your Gmail account as if it were a Microsoft Exchange account. So, when selecting account type, be sure to hit "Microsoft Exchange." Enter your Google Mail email and password, as shown in the adjacent screenshot. Then hit "Next." Now comes the important part. On the next page, you'll be asked to enter a "Server" and "Domain." For your email's server, enter m.google.com, and leave the domain field blank. Again, hit "next" to proceed. On the next page, you'll be asked which Google Mail services you want to sync with your device. As the guys over at Google note, "unless you want to delete all the existing Contacts and Calendars on your phone, select the Keep on my iPhone option when prompted." Once you're finished, hit "Done," and presto: you've managed to configure "push" notifications for your Google Mail account! Thankfully, setting up a MobileMe account is far easier (but you have to pay for that, right?). To ensure that "push" notifications are on, head over to the "Fetch New Data" section within the "Mail, Contacts, Calendars" part of the Settings app, and make sure "push" is switched to ON. If all of your email accounts are configured to use "push," then you don't need to set up a "fetch" schedule. However, if some accounts aren't push-enabled, you can select from a variety of "fetch" intervals (15, 30, 60 minutes, or manually). Other important aspects of the "Mail, Contacts, Calendars" section of the Settings app, include your iDevice's signature, which can be located further down the list. By hitting "Signature," you can change the default "Sent from my iPhone" to something a little cooler, if you wish. Alternatively, you can leave it alone. As you might have noticed, within the "Mail, Contacts, Calendars" part of the Settings application, there are a variety of other settings you can play around with. However, I personally think that these can be left alone - in all my time of owning an iDevice, I've never once altered anything apart from my iDevice's signature. Regardless of this, we're not going to completely ignore them. Instead, I've recorded a run-through of this section of the Settings application, which I'm demoing on an iPad. In the embedded video below, we'll look at everything the "Mail, Contacts, Calendars" section of the Settings app has to offer. I'll tell you what each is, and show you how to edit and customize the Mail, Contacts, and Calendar options for yourself:

And, with that final explanation we come to the end of today’s class. Thanks for reading through today’s iOS 101, we hope its been helpful. If you’re new to the world of iPhones, iPads, or iPod touches, feel free to recommend an iOS 101 lesson in the comments below, and we’ll try to cover it as soon as possible.

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